Beet harvester with lifter



T. H. JENSEN BEET HARVESTER WITH LIFTER Jan. 1, 1952 4 Sheets-Sheet 1Filed July 28, 1947 INVENTOR. Theron H. Jensen Jan. 1, 1952 "r. H.JENSEN 2,580,432

BEET HARVESTER WITH LIFTER Filed July 28, 1947 4 Sheets-Sheet 2INVENTOR. Theron H. Jensen ATTORNEY Jan. 1, 1952 'r. H. JENSEN 2,580,432

BEET HARVESTER WITH LIFTER Filed July 28, 1947 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 IN VENTOR. Th er on H. Jensen ATTORNEY Jan. 1, 1952 T. H. JENSEN 2,580,432

BEET HARVESTER WITH LIFTER Filed July 28, 1947 iSheets-Sheet 4 llllllllllllllllll IN VEN TOR. Theron H. Jensen A TTORNE Y Patented Jan. 1, 1952UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE BEET HARVESTER WITH LIFTER Theron H. Jensen,Cowley, Wyo.

Application July 28, 1947, Serial No. 764,180

12 Claims.

i 1 '-...This invention relates to apparatus for harvesting sugar beetsand the like, plants of which the valuable portion grows in the groundand therefore must be removed from the ground at the time of harvest.

Among the objects of this invention are to provide a novel apparatus forharvesting beets and the like;-. to provide such apparatus which willeffectively remove the'beets from the ground; to provide such apparatuswhich will remove the beetsjfifrom the ground and transfer them to apoint'fotdischarge, such as into a receptacle for the same; to providesuch apparatus which .will operatesimultaneously on more than one row ofbeetsgj to provide such apparatus which may be mounted on a tractor orthe like; toprovide such apparatus which will also remove. beet tops andother, growth above ground which may tend to interfere with the removalof the beets; to provide such apparatus which will act positively on.the beets. to remove them from the ground; .and

to provide such apparatus which is readily con trolledgand is effectiveand efiicient in operation. Additional objects, and the novel featuresof this invention, will become apparent from the description whichfollows, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig.1 a longitudinal vertical section of beet harvesting apparatusconstructed in accordance with this invention, mounted on a tractor andtaken substantially along the line l--I of Fig. 3, looking in thedirection of the arrows;

Fig, 2 is an enlarged plan view of a portion of a conveyor forming apart of the apparatus of Fig.1;- e q Fig.3, is a top plan view of theapparatus of Figx l, with portions of the tractor omitted for clarity'ofillustration; I

Fig-4 is a rear elevation of the apparatus of Fig 1,". certain partsbeing omitted and others being broken away d "rig. 5 is a fragmentarytop plan view or 'a beet removal digger, and associated parts; f

"Fig. 6 is 'a vertical section taken along Lline r is- 'F'ig." partialtop plan view of an alterna- 7"istive construction, certain parts beingshown in section; and

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary side elevation of the alternative constructionshown in Fig. 7 and taken 'within one of the housings'in Fig. 7.

One form ofbeet harvesting apparatusgcon structed in accordance withthis invention, and as shown in Figs. 1 and 3, may include a pair ofspaced diggers D, each rotated in the direction to an elevated point atthe side of a tractor T.

Each of the foregoing parts may be mounted on the tractor T, thewindrower W beneath the tractor adjacent the forward end thereof, thediggers D beneath the tractor substantially midway thereof, and theconveyor C just to the rear of the diggers D and forward of the tractorwheels 9. As will be evident, the conveyor C has a lower central sectiononto which the beets are thrown by the diggers D, and extends upwardlyat each side, so that the removed beets may be discharged into a wagon,truck, or the like, moving along with the tractor at one side or theother, depending upon the direction of movement of the conveyor C. Or,the beets may be deposited on the which the machine is mounted, andbetween the rear wheels.

In each embodiment, the windrower W comprises an endless belt lz movingin either direction around a pair of rollers l3, and provided with aplurality of projections or spikes M which are adapted to engage thebeet tops or other aboveground growth, to move the same to one side orthe other, depending upon the direction of rotation of the rollers l3.Rollers l3 are mounted on shafts journalled in bearings l5, as in Fig.3, and one or both of the shafts may be rotated by suitable gearing orthe like, such as bevel gearing 16 0f Figs. 1 and 3, driven in a mannerexplained later.

22 to pivot in a counter-clockwise direction about a fixed pin 23,mounted-on tractor T.

When angular link 22 pivots'in this manner, the

have forward edges disposed tangentiallywto a central hub 21, in turnmounted on a rotating shaft 28extending from a housing -29.- Eachhub 21and the forks 26 may be formed in-anysuitable manner, as by two plates,each provided with a series of peripheral arms bentoutwa-rdly anddisposed in opposed relation to form the :=-forks, the fork arms-beingformed integrally with the hub plates. Or,'==as-in=:the alternativeconstruction 'of diggers D'- of Figs. '7, and 8; a iplurrality ofV-shaped forks may be attached-in =angu1ar relation; :asxby welding; tothe periphery a of a central hub 3|. i Diggers "D and Du'difier somewhatin constructional detail, butcperate'in a similar manner, such-as showninEigs. 7: and

8, theforks 30' digging a' furrow 32 in the earth 1 I" as the.apparatus" moves forwardly, and'each' timeba forki30 engages 'afbeet llE1 the beet isimpaled between the two arms of the fork and lifted .outof "the: ground. The rotation of the'digge'rs D and D is preferably=sufiiciently fast so that rthebeetstend to be throwniromfthe diggerson- ,atoconveyors C or C.

In the first embodiment; a housing. 34' having side walls 35, asin Fig:6, is disposed above and around each digger D, housing 34" being o en atthe rear and extending arcuatelydownwardly fora short distance atitsforward end. A wheeltror roller 36 is positionedr-just.forwardly ofeach digger; and tends to pushthe-beets onto the dig- .ger as the beetsare removed from theground, :thus insuring that: the meta will' beremoved ef- 'fectively. and deposited upon-the conveyor. Each 1 wheel orroller 36 may be mountedfor'rotation ona shaft or'pin 31-at the frontend of a double arm; a-rcuate bracket =38; whichiis pivoted-at itsupperend atop housing 34. Each, digger housing 34 is supported from abeam l'l, whileshaft housing 29 issupported from the inner side walls35,

so that the diggers D will moveupwa-rdly and downwardly with beamsl,1,-whichmay-:alsobe adjusted toregulate the depth of furrow made bythe dig ers.

The front end or eachlside wallti of; a housing 34terminates inconformity with-adisd39, there being a pair of discsahead of each diggerto nice along orinto the earth ll. just enough'at each side of' the rowto cut any tops or other trash that might pass the windrower. Each-disc39 is pivotally mounted on an arm 40"which, in

wardportion of the diggers ,abovegrpund. The

housing insures that thebeets $18 will be deposited on the conveyor C".Housing 29 for shaft 28, on which diggers D are mounted, is supportedfrom the inner walls 46 of each housing 45, the housings being supportedfrom pivotally mounted beams, as in the first embodiment. Or, ifdesired, shaft housing 29 may be supported from the tractordiggerhousings 45 thereby being'supported' by shaft housing 29'.

'The conveyorc of Figs'l and3 may 'comprise .a series of links, attachedtogether at each side,

'as illustrated in greater detail in Fig. 2, each -;1ink1comprising arod 48 having at each side a lateral arm 49 provided with an eye 56 atthe end, through which the next rod'48 extends.

V The spacesbetween the rods 48 are preferably such t at the beets willnot fall through, but "clodsofearth or the like will be permitted tofall through to the ground. The conveyor C is provided with a fiatcentral section adjacent the .-ground= onto which .the beets are":deposited: by

the diggers 1D; as will'tbe'evidentfiomsFig 4,

:and at' each sideans upwardly inclinedsection along one of which thebeets?are carriied fbr deposit -in a truck or the like-,- tlie :si'deat' which 'the beets are deposited depending upon the directi'on ofmovement of the xconveyor. EZEabh turn, is adjustably mounted on a sidewall 35.

Thus, each arm 40 may bepivotally'aattached at 1:

its-"upper end to the'side wall and provided with an adjusting bolt 4 I,adapted to be tightenedat a desired position along a slot 42 inside wall35, :for vertical positioning of the disc39.

In the embodiment of Figs. 7 and-8,' a' housing .45 exte'nds from apointjust abovetheearth-forward of eachdigger D; andupwarc lly to apo'i'nt to the rear ofthe center of" rotation'iof each *digger. -Thehousingwi may-beprovided with ve'rti'cal si'de"'wa1ls*46; thus enclosingthe forupwardlyte the lefti to=-the point bf disch'a 'e 40 section *ofthe conveyor-.10 comprises upper and lower levels; and'fiass'uming:theupper *levelito be moving in tthe direc'tion 'ofthe arrows ofFigfi-A, for? discharge .of i-the beetsite.the lefti'side of thetractor; the upper level of the conveyor will =m0ve from the upperright'zdown-wardly beneath two sets'of sprockets 5d: mounted on brackets52 depending "from beams 'l l-iand acrossthe central section ontowhichithe beets are deposited. I The upper level: of the' conveyor wi1l"'move *the' bets at a' pair of upper sprockets 53; as i'n' Figs. 3,around'which the conveyor passes tothe lower level. Th'e lowerlevel then*moves downw' dly beneath lower sprockets 54 Which ar mo'unted onbrackets 52, beneath sprocket 5 l "The lower" level of the"'convey'orthenpasses np- 'wajrdlyto the right and around the llght hahd alsouppersprockets 53; from-whence it again passes along: theupper l'eveldownwardly" to fthe ilat central i section; "to 1. -receivethe beets=2tfirotin The upper-sprockets sa e egmoumea-hastens 55, J'Ournalled 'attheoute upper ends' 'of an 'gul'ar brackets fifiwhich extend duttvar iahd upwardly-from the framework- 44 ortrac r. T

to the left and right, as in Figs. 1v ndiss h pair of tii'e rofcls 51or? other stiffening members extending" therebetweenf'as "in Figfi 4;"may be provided to add rigidity tci-br'aEckts SBJ The conveyor 0- may'beilriven in asu'itable "manner,- such "as by chains 59 which driveupbfer.sprockets 59, mounted on shafts" ;the chains lower ends 'by'" sprockets60. "Sprocket? 60- are 'mounted on a: drive -"shaft Bl prbv ideawah oneor more universal joints BZ-andJdrivenTfrom a "two-directiontrans-missed orflgearhox 63,.Tthe

latter of which is 'opera'tedthr'ough a handle F64. The drive to,gearbox 63includes a'I' c'liai'n -"fifi which asses around ageaiboxfs'pr'ocket 6s; and "*7'0 also around a; drive sprocket 61 "which ismounted on an auxilia y or poweii taketirsharrta, extending rearwardly'.fr'om the rear axleihousing mo'r'thetractbrr j' Chain 65' also;"passes" around aiuig'geffdme s rocket "69 mounted-on asharmrandtim- 12,which through suitable bevel gearing or the like mounted in transversehousing 29, drives shaft 28 on the ends ofwhich the diggers D aremounted. Torque tube 12 passes between the upper and lower levels of thecenter section of the conveyor C, as in Fig. 1, while universal joint His preferably in alignment with the pivot points of beams H, as evidentfrom Figs. 1 and 3, to minimize stresses on the universal joint when thebeams" are moved upwardly or downwardly. Also, one of the universaljoints B2 in shaft fil, as in Fig. 3, is disposed as closely as possibletothe plane of the pivot pointsfor bea ll, so that stresses on thesejoints will be minimized. o o V o 'Provision for driving windrower Wfrom rear power take-off shaft 68 may be made, but it is preferred. asshown in Fig. 1, to drive the windroweriW from aside power take-offshaft l4, normallyconventional on tractors. Thus, a

pulley 15 for a V-belt 16 may be mountedon shaft14, and belt I6 alsopasses over a pulley Tl, as in Fig. 3, for transmitting power to a twodirection transmission or gear box 18, controlled b'yiafhan'dle .19.From transmission 78, the drive to windrower W proceeds through bevelgearing 811', a sectional slip shaft Bl provided with universal joints8?, to bevel gearing [6, as in Figs. 1 and 3. It will be understood, ofcourse, that any other suitable manner of driving the windrower W may beutilized.

The beams I! may be attached together to form a relatively rigid frame,as by a front plate 84 at the forward end adjacent the windrower W;intermediate plates '85 which, as in Fig. 3, connect the lower ends ofbrackets 52 and may be made integrally therewith; and rear plates 86,each of which also provide support for bearings 81 for shaft 6|. It willbe understood, of course, that theelevating conveyor C, the diggers Dand associated parts, and also the windrower W, may be mountedindependently on the tractor or othe supporting machine.

In the embodiment of Figs. 7 and 8, the conveyor C may comprise a linkstructure, such as the conveyor'C of the first embodiment, or, ifdesired may comprise a belt 89 provided with slats 90, the belt runningaround upper and lower rollers, only the lower roller 9| mounted on ashaft 92 beingshown. Of course, when the conveyor C of Figs. 7 and 8comprises a link construction, sprockets are substituted for therollers. The drive to windrower W, diggers D', and conveyor C may beprovided in substantially the same manner as described previously, ordifferent drive arrangements may be utilized. For instance, when thediggers D and housings 45 are to be supported'from housing 29', suchsupport may be through a tube 93 through which a drive shaft 94 extends.The drive shaft 94 may be disposed angularly, as in the firstembodiment, or may be disposed vertically. Ordinarily, due to therearward location of conveyor C, the windrower W and diggers D of Figs.7 and 8 will normally bespaced further to the rear beneath the tractorthan the corresponding parts in the first embodiment, conveyor C therebyextending from the rear underneath rear axle housing [9 of the tractor,as in Fig. 8.

A From the foregoing, it will be evident that apparatus for harvestingsugar beets and the like, constructed in accordance with this invention,fulfills to a marked degree the objects and requirements hereinbeforeset forth. The relabeets and the forceful deposition thereof onto theconveyor C or C. In the first embodiment, the roller 35 tends to pushthe beets onto the digger D, but due to its pivotal mounting, adjustsitself to the size of a beet being removed. The housing 34 of the firstembodiment, and the housing 45 0f the second embodiment, insure that'thebeets will be deposited on the respective conveyor, and not merelythrown upwardly into the air. Thus, the housings 34 and 45 permit thebeets to move outwardly along the forks 2B and 30, respectively, due tocentrifugal force acting on the beets as soon aspicked up by the forks,and atthe same time tend to insure the deposition of the beets on therespective conveyor. If desired, stripping fingers or the like, may beprovided, to insure fully removal of the beets from the diggers.

The windrower W, in removing beet, tops and other growth above ground,contributes considerably to the effectiveness of the operation of thediggers, since they reduce to a minimum the tendency for the diggers orother portions of the apparatus to become clogged by an accumulation ofsuch beet tops or growth from above ground. The windrower W may be runto either side, preferably toward that portion of the'field from whichthe beets have already been removed. Also, the conveyor C of the firstembodiment may be run in either direction, thus contributing to theversatility of the apparatus. Conveyor C of the second embodiment,discharges the beets to the rear, which beets may be deposited upon ashortcoupled wagon or other suitable trailer having a receptacle, whichmay be towed by the tractor or other support on which the apparatus ismounted. s i

Although two different embodiments of this invention have beenillustrated and described, it will be understood that other embodimentsof this invention may exist; and that the apparatus may be mounted on awheeled framework proor by other motive power. It will further beunderstood that variousadditional changes may,

be made, all without departing from the spirit and scope of thisinvention.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for harvesting sugar beets and the like, comprising awindrower for moving sugar beet tops and other growth above ground toone side, said windrower including an endless belt having a plurality'ofprojections for catching beet tops and the like, said belt moving aroundan axis at one end of its traverse so as to throw off such beet topsandthe like, said axis being disposed at an angle to the ground level;at least one digger for removing beets from the ground; and means forsupporting said digger and windrower and moving the same along a row ofbeets or the like. i

2. In apparatus for harvesting sugar beets and the like, a diggercomprising a hub having a series of peripheral forks for digging afurrow housing disposed above said digger in spaced re lation thereto,and having sides extending down wardly along each side of said digger, aroller rotatably mounted on arms which are freely pivoted ingsubstantially surrounding the upper portion, a wheel iotatably mountedon arms extending forwardly and pivotally mounted on said hous ing, saidwheel rolling on the ground in advance of said digger and insubstantially tangential relation to said digger, a pair of discsmounted forwardly and outwardly of each of said diggers in overlappingrelation thereto, said discs being aligned and in adjacent relation withthe sides of said housing.

12. A beet harvesting apparatus as set out in claim 8 wherein saidconveyor extends upwardly and rearwardly from said diggers to a commonelevated point of discharge for the beets deposited thereon by both ofsaid diggers.

THERON H. JENSEN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file orthis patent:

10 UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Number Name, Date Hutchinson et al. Oct.15, 1872 McLaren Oct. 16, 1888 Graham Dec. 25, 1888 Packham June 27,1899 Dewey Oct. 25, 1904 Smith June 11, 1907 Briggs Sept. 12, 1911Finkbeiner Nov, 13, 1917 Crume May 20, 1919 Dott et a1 Aug. 6, 1929Daniels et a1 Nov. 17, 1936 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date France Apr. 13,1909

